


an almighty sound

by phantomadrenx



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: First Meetings, Gen, Implied Relationships, Missing Scene, POV Inquisitor, Short One Shot, Warden Queen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-05
Updated: 2015-12-05
Packaged: 2018-05-05 01:55:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5356577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantomadrenx/pseuds/phantomadrenx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Miriella Cousland, the Hero of Ferelden, is not at all what he was expecting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	an almighty sound

He isn’t sure what he expected.

Miriella Cousland is a living, breathing legend given flesh. She should be larger than life, beautiful and terrible to behold, but that is not the case. She meets him on the edge of the Korcari Wilds, near an abandoned hut that is horribly overgrown and nearly reclaimed by nature.

He meets her alone, a requirement that she requested in a note to Leliana that accompanied her official letter.

She stands a good head shorter than him, hair a blazing platinum blonde in the late afternoon sun and eyes the colour of the sea at dawn. Her armour, which is of fine make, is dented and battered, but she carries herself like the queen she is; shoulders back and head held high. Her skin is a warm, dark brown, an inheritance from the Rivaini blood of her mother.

Her smile is warm, but sad, “I hadn’t thought you would come.”

“Who could ignore a request from the Hero of Ferelden herself?” he asks. It’s infectious, her smile, which is sweet and surprisingly young.

“I suppose that if this were official, I’d be telling you how honoured I am that your worship is taking time out of his very busy schedule to meet with me.” She stands at ease, though her hand rests casually on the hilt of her sword.

“But it isn’t.”

“No, so I won’t stand on ceremony. I was always terrible at that, anyway, so it’s better for the both of us if I don’t.” She’s still smiling, but it doesn’t quite meet her eyes, “I didn’t really have a reason to meet with you, aside from, well, making sure that you’re alright.”

He stares, blinks, “What?”

“I didn’t – oh, I put my foot in that one. _Shit_.” She sighs, takes a deep breath, “What I meant was: I know how difficult it is to know that you hold the fate of the world in your hands. I likely know better than anyone else alive what it is that you’re going through. What I want to know is: How are you holding up?”

Jason looks at her now, taking her in. There’s a small scar on her eyebrow, barely a nick but there, and the dented state of her armour attests to the countless battles and skirmishes she has seen. When he looks at her, he sees a reflection of himself in a way. Her eyes look out of place in her face, far too old to belong to a woman barely into her thirties.

Here is a woman who raised an army, united a nation, and crowned a king. He’s only heard whispers of what happened in Amaranthine, but she changed the arling into the crown jewel of Ferelden. Miriella is beloved, both by her people and her husband. At the same time, however, her reputation precedes her: Jason knows her as the Hero of Ferelden, a legendary figure that’s far divorced from the woman standing before him.

“Does it ever get easier?” he asks. He thinks of the men and women under his command, who would die for him and the Inquisition without a moment’s hesitation. He remembers Adamant, the fear he felt and that hopeless feeling that began to crawl into him and sink its claws in as they pressed through. The Fade is still a vivid memory, the Nightmare that haunts him even now.

“No,” Miriella replies, quietly. “It doesn’t.”

It’s an answer he expects. He isn’t sure why he asked, but… it’s there, a connection. Before him stands Miriella, Hero of Ferelden who ended the Fifth Blight when she, at the tender age of twenty, plunged her blade into the heart of Urthemiel atop Fort Drakon.

“You do what you must because you have to, because there is no one else to make those choices. But you do not make them alone.” Her smile comes back, just a little, and she laughs – a light sound a bit like bells tinkling together, “You’re not alone.”

He thinks of Dorian. Of Leliana, Cullen, and Josephine; Blackwall and Solas, Vivienne and Sera, Iron Bull and Cole. No, he thinks, he isn’t alone.

“I’m not. I think I’d go mad if I were.”

“It makes it easier,” she says. “To have someone to share your secrets, your dreams, your hopes. Someone who reminds you _why_ this is all worth it. Saving the world is a grand and all, but it’s easier to look at something much smaller and go: That is why I fight; that is why I’m doing this.”

 _My king_ , she had written. To read between the lines, to hear her words, he knows. It’s a thought that has crossed his mind, now more frequently than ever, because there is always that chance, that risk, that he could so easily lose the one he loves.

“You mean your husband.”

“I do. He is… I would do anything to keep him safe. That’s why I left. That’s why I must keep to my search. If I can end the Calling for us both, he would never need fear my loss nor I his.” She glances up to the sky before she steps closer, places her hand on his forearm, and squeezes tightly. “I do not have much time, I must leave.”

“Where will you go?”

“Further south, for now. I will turn north again soon, perhaps to Orlais. It depends,” Miriella responds. “I have leads to follow and my goal is close. Soon, I can return. Until then, I trust you to protect Alistair in my absence and guard Leliana. Guide her, please. Don’t let her lose her way in the darkness.”

“I promise,” he says.

Her smile is radiant, glowing, “I shall pray for your success, Jason Trevelyan.”

“And I for yours.”

Before she leaves, Miriella pauses, the sun at her back, leaving her in silhouette, “Oh, and before I forget: When you find Morrigan, tell her I said hello.”

**Author's Note:**

>  **Words:** 992 words
> 
> The original title for this on my drive is "felt cheated so i wrote this." This is my default world state for Inquisition that I'm hoping to develop a little more. So, partly this was because I really wanted my Warden and Inquisitor to meet, but also so I could try and develop their characters a little bit more. It was a fun exercise.


End file.
